Brian Wilson was very complimentary about this recording of the St
John Passion in his Download
News 2013/4. Like me, Brian had also been listening to the new Stephen
Layton disc on Hyperion (review).
That excellent recording is a different proposition to the one now before
us in that Stephen Layton presents a performance of Bach’s great setting
as we’re accustomed to hearing it, using the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.
I hope to show in this review why it would not be an indulgence to have
both if your budget stretches to this.

Like Brian Wilson, I don’t wish to get involved in the debate about the
size of choral forces for Bach; that’s an area where angels fear to tread.
What I will say, however, is that my general preference – as a matter
of taste - is to hear Bach’s sacred music performed by small
choirs of the scale of The Monteverdi Choir or The Sixteen – or even the
small choir employed, years ahead of his time, by Karl Ristenpart (review).
I own several Bach recordings by the likes of Joshua Rifkin and Andrew
Parrott but, though they have much to commend them, I find myself coming
back again and again to performances involving a small flexible choir.
So, given that “prejudice” it’s unsurprising, perhaps, that I have responded
so positively to the recent Layton recording and to the excellent live
Gardiner account that came out in 2011 (review).
However, I hope my ears are not closed to smaller scale efforts. For instance,
I found much to admire last year in the version directed by Sigiswald
Kuijken (review).

Before discussing the performance it may be helpful to say something first
about the version of the work that John Butt has used and then about the
forces involved. John Butt deals with the question of the text in a detailed
and scholarly – yet very readable – note. In essence he has followed the
Neue Bach-Ausgabe, though noting that this has come in for a
good deal of scholarly disapproval. He has incorporated some of the changes
to the instrumental scoring that Bach made in connection with performances
of the Passion subsequent to its first presentation. The version offered
here is what Butt conjectures might have been given in a projected 1739
Good Friday presentation of the St John Passion which, in the
event, didn’t take place. However, most listeners are unlikely to notice
any significant differences between this and the familiar Neue Bach-Ausgabe.
As for his forces, Butt has used just eight singers – the four principals
as Concertists and four more as Ripienists – and it’s worth pointing out
that both the altos are female. In his orchestra he has two each of first
and second violins, a viola, two cellos/gambas – a cello is used in ‘Es
ist vollbracht’ – and a violone. There are the usual pairs of flutes and
oboes, a bassoon and organ. John Butt himself plays the harpsichord and
also plays the organ preludes that we hear. The congregational chorales
are sung with alternate verses in unison and four-part harmony. The harmonised
verses are sung – very well – by the University of Glasgow Chapel Choir.
For the unison verses John Butt has assembled a sizeable vocal group which
includes not only all the other singers involved here but also, in a nice
touch, many Scottish-based amateur singers who have participated in Dunedin
workshops as well as people who have supported the Consort’s work in other
ways: they make a splendid sound.

That leads me nicely on to what exactly it is that we hear on these discs
for what is presented is much more than the ‘conventional’ St. John
Passion. We are offered here a putative reconstruction of the service
of Vespers as it might have been celebrated in Leipzig on Good Friday,
1739. This means that there is some music surrounding the Passion setting
itself, though this does not intrude – if I may use that term – into the
Passion. So, before Part I of the Passion John Butt plays Bach’s Chorale
Prelude Da Jesus an dem Kreuze Stund, BWV 621 after which the
original chorale by Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) is sung congregationally.
Butt then plays a brief extract from Buxtehude’s Praeludium in F-sharp
minor, BuxWV 146, after which Bach’s great chorus ‘Herr unser Herrscher’
commences immediately. Hearing even a few bars of well-chosen organ music
before Bach’s uniquely suspenseful orchestral introduction to the first
chorus is revelatory.

At the conclusion of Part I John Butt takes to the organ again to play
Bach’s Chorale Prelude O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 618, which
is followed by the chorale sung by the congregation. In the Lutheran liturgy
the congregation would then have heard a substantial sermon. That’s not
included here but, typifying the thoroughness of this project, an appropriate
sermon and related material can be downloaded free from the Linn Records
website (click here).The
sermon, by the way, lasts for forty minutes!

As a prelude to Part II John Butt plays the Chorale Prelude Christus,
der uns selig macht, BWV 620 and that is followed by the self-same
chorale as the Passion resumes. There’s no more additional material until
the Passion is finished so I’ll reserve further comment until then.

The performance of the St John Passion is a fine one, taut and
dramatic for the most part but fully in tune with the many reflective
passages. The first time I listened I was a bit thoughtful about Nicholas
Mulroy as the Evangelist. Though his excellent singing was most certainly
not without subtlety his style seemed a bit ‘public’ and direct after
experiencing Ian Bostridge on the Layton recording – and remembering also
Mark Padmore’s superb reading of the part on the Gardiner set. Further
listening made me realise that Mulroy’s assumption of the role is a considerable
one in its own right. He often makes a bigger, one might say more forthright,
sound than his aforementioned peers and his is certainly not the light,
sappy voice that one has heard from some German tenors. However, I became
increasingly drawn into his way with the narrative. It’s often dramatic
but he uses his voice subtly and gently at many points and, overall, his
is a perceptive and persuasive reading. He also sings the tenor arias
and he does them very well.

Matthew Brook is a dignified and authoritative Christus. His timbre is
right for the role and, like Mulroy, he paces the recitative intelligently.
He sings the bass arias and I appreciated especially his thoughtful account
of ‘Betrachte, meine Seel’. Robert Davies does well as Pilate, singing
with firm tone and bringing good presence to the role. Joanne Lunn has
the two soprano arias. She brings a light, eager voice to ‘Ich folge dir
gleichfalls’ in which the flutes also make a splendid contribution. Just
occasionally I thought that in her desire for expression her enthusiasm
sounded a little breathless but it’s still a delightful performance. She
is equally accomplished in the very different aria, ‘Zerfließe, mein Herze’.
This achingly beautiful aria contains some of the most deeply affecting
vocal music that Bach ever wrote and Miss Lunn sings it extremely well;
her pure tone and expressiveness are ideally suited to the music. I’m
not quite so enthusiastic about Clare Wilkinson, I’m afraid, though she
sings intelligently and tastefully. To me her voice is that of a quite
light, even lean, mezzo and her voice seems to fall between two stools.
On the one hand she doesn’t have the tonal – or expressive – richness
of a Janet Baker. On the other hand the voice doesn’t have the penetration
of a male alto – the sort of voice I prefer to hear in a period performance
of St John Passion. In the last analysis her voice has insufficient
individuality for ‘Von den Stricken’, still less for ‘Es ist vollbracht’.
I suppose the style and timbre is right for an intimately scaled performance
such as this and on its own terms her contribution is good but on this
occasion ‘Es ist vollbracht’ is not quite the expressive heart of the
work that it should be. It may be that Miss Wilkinson was “batting to
orders” for it seems to me that in this aria the keening cello obbligato,
though well played, is also a bit reserved.

The choral movements are a success and I soon forgot my inhibitions about
slender forces. It’s true that sometimes one misses vocal weight. On the
other hand there are many gains from the use of such a small body of singers.
For the most part there’s great clarity in the part writing – I have one
reservation to which I’ll come in a minute – and the singers are able
to bring tremendous precision, at pace, to a chorus such as ‘Weg, weg
mit dem, kreuzige ihn!’ or to the exhilaratingly light-footed ‘Lasset
uns den nicht zerteilen’. In the chorus ‘Kreuzige, kreuzige!’ the strong
soprano line is a particularly important element driving the great intensity
of the singing. The only reservation I have concerns balance. The vocal
ensemble contains some strong voices and this means that the sopranos
and tenors in particular are a touch prominent at times. In a chorus such
as ‘Wir haben ein Gesetz’, with its busy part writing, the alto line is
rather hidden by the other parts. I do wonder if the use of male altos
with their tonal cutting edge might have produced better results. However,
the choruses have lots of bite and conviction and throughout the work
the chorales are extremely well done.

The instrumental playing is very good – the woodwind obbligato playing
is particularly fine. John Butt’s direction is consistently surefooted
with all the arias very intelligently paced. The lengthy scene before
Pilate is full of dramatic tension and here in particular I felt a real
sense of experiencing theatre in a small physical space.

At the end of the work the final chorale, ‘Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein’
is sung, as it should be, as a hymn of praise and trust in the Almighty.
However, we’re not finished and what follows makes even more sense than
usual of that last chorale. Immediately after the chorale – and I completely
agree with Brian Wilson that there should be a longer gap – the University
of Glasgow Chapel Choir sings the a cappella motet Ecce quomodo
moritur by Jacob Händl Gallus (1550-1591), This is a lovely, simple
piece which receives a cultivated performance. There follow sung prayers
and a blessing before Butt plays the Chorale Prelude Nun danket alle
Gott, BWV 657. After this the congregation sings the original chorale
by Johann Crüger (1598-1662) and Vespers is over. I have to say that all
this and especially the concluding chorale, lustily sung, makes even more
sense than usual of the St. John Passion ending not with ‘Ruht
wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine’ but with ‘Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein’.
Yes, the Lutheran liturgy for Good Friday was solemn and sorrowful but
the faithful would have seen beyond the death of Christ to their redemption
through his suffering and death. The proper conclusion to their liturgy
was to give thanks and praise to God.

So, this new recording of the St. John Passion offers us a very
fine performance of Bach’s masterpiece. However it goes much further by
putting the Passion firmly and thoughtfully into context. As such it is
one of the most stimulating versions of Bach’s masterpieces that has come
my way and it demands to be heard by all Bach devotees.

The production values are first rate. The documentation is excellent,
offering not just the full text and translations but also an extensive
and scholarly essay by John Butt. I listened to these hybrid SACDs in
CD format and found the sound exceptionally clear and truthful: the recording
has great presence.

I will not be surprised if this recording of the St. John Passion
comes to be regarded as a landmark in the work’s already distinguished
discography.

John Quinn

A very fine performance of the St. John Passion, likely to become
a landmark in the work’s discography.